Hey guys! Ariana here (:. I'm back with a new chapter of this colorful drama. I'm such a hopeless romantic that sometimes people call me "cute". It's kinda disturbing. Well, anyways, here's more Niley-ness. I think I'm on a roll with them. As you can see, Nick's supposed to be Mr. Popularity and Miley's like the Cinderella in this story, except that her family isn't evil and Selena is the evil stepmother...I hope you guys enjoy this and reviews please! They would mean so much to me.

Chapter 4: Starry-Eyed Surprise

"I think you're kind of…adorable," Nick said, smiling at Miley.

She felt her heart skip a beat. She didn't want to show him how nervous she was. "I guess you are too…"

He smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek but she knew him. He wanted more that just a simple kiss on the cheek.

She leaned into him and it was all thunder and lightning after that.

That's when she woke up. "Whoa!" She panicked a little and then took a couple of deep breaths. "What the f-"

She combed her fingers through her hair to calm herself down. She sighed. Just a dream…Thank God.

She walked over to her bookshelf and grabbed a silver book. It was obviously her diary. She jumped back on her bed and started writing.

Dear Diary,

Yesterday…didn't turn out so terrible after all. Okay…technically it was earlier today but not my point. I actually talked to that Nick guy and he wasn't as bad as I thought. Does that mean that I see him in a whole new light? ……Fat chance.

"Miley, you promised you'd take me to see the new Naomi Wyoming movie today. Now let's get a move-on!" Her little sister, Noah, was jumping up and down on her bed.

Miley was practically awake. She yawned a little and said, "Oh yeah…No worries, Noah. Let me get ready and then we're on our way."

She closed her diary and hid it in a place where no would ever look which was in her sock drawer. Her underwear drawer would've been too obvious.

She sighed, really wanting to go back to bed. She's been working on college applications and dealing with her AP (or what she would prefer as Advanced Procrastination) classes. She could've taken it easy this year since it was her senior year but…she wanted her college apps to look as great as she could possibly make them. She was such an overachiever that it even annoyed herself more than everyone else around her.

Miley yawned and then heard her cell phone vibrate on her desk. It was from Nick. The interesting boy gave her his number yesterday so they could talk more.

Last Night: Miley's POV

"Hey…Can I give you my number? I really wanna get to know you," Nick said as he actually walked me all the way home. He didn't really trust me with walking home by myself. Men…Boys…Whatever the fuck guys like him were…

"Me as in the actual person within me…Like my soul…Or the me that gets out of my pants…skirt…undies…whatever I'm wearing as bottoms..."

Nick raised an eyebrow at me and said, "Why would you even ask that?"

"Well…Because I've heard things. I was hoping that you'd prove me wrong."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Since you're judging me…Then, I can say that I think you're a know-it-all and you think you're better than me."

I smirked. "Well, I always thought that you thought you were above me."

"I never thought that because I never knew who you were."

"In other words, you're too self-absorbed to have ever known that I've existed," I replied.

Nick stared at me in disbelief. "What the hell?"

I stopped myself, knowing I was taking things a little too far…Especially in less than 15 minutes…What came over me? I guess it was the fact that I always assumed that he was just like Selena and the other popular kids at school. I know it sounds a little clichéd but…I couldn't help thinking that way. No one could be that attractive and genuinely cool.

Wait…Attractive? What was I thinking? I wanted to hit myself in the head so badly but then Nick would've thought that I lost my mind…More so than I already have.

I shook my head. "Sorry…I went too far with that joke…I didn't mean it." I decided that he would be too disappointed in me and I kept on walking, alone.

"Oh, you are not walking home alone," Nick replied, apparently forgetting my insult that I wasn't too sure could be true.

"It's okay, Nick," I said, "You shouldn't even be here with me right now."

"…Miley, you can't just judge me like that. I'm sorry but since when was it my obligation to know that you existed?"

"It never was actually…Sorry, it's just that your people piss me off. Among them being Selena."

His eyebrows narrowed. "My people?" He sighed and rubbed the back of his head which I kind of thought was cute…I really needed to give myself a mental slap… "And you hang out with her, don't you? So wouldn't you be 'one of us'?"

"Look…I don't hang out with her to get the perks of being popular? I have to give in to whatever she says because if I don't, she'll-" I realized that I'd said too much already so I stopped myself.

Nick stood there, wide-eyed at how emotional I was getting. As if I showed anyone I was truly feeling. I never wanted anyone to know what I was feeling. I've been told that it's hard to know what I'm feeling, unless you know me pretty well.

I continued. "I…should get going." I wanted to run off so fast and then suddenly, I noticed that clouds began to cover the night sky and the moon kept appearing and disappearing. I also heard the quiet rumbling of what was soon to be storm.

"Miley," Nick simply called out to me.

"What is it? We can't even have a casual conversation without getting into a fight? We're the worst non-couple in the universe," I said.

"I don't know you well enough so you can feel comfortable about telling me what problems you have with…" He cringed. "Selena…But I want you to trust me because I want to trust you, too."

"So you really do want to get to know me? No games?" I asked, starting to truly believe in him when his eyes shimmered with pure sincerity.

"Promise. I want to have a friend who doesn't like…"

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Parties…" He chuckled and then continued, "Since I'm not a big fan of parties myself…But "my people", as you like to call them, expect me to be there."

I revealed a little smile because he was being honest and maybe I could trust him. "Fine. Do you want my number?"

His eyes were hopeful and he smiled a little. He handed me his phone so I could put it in and I dialed it so my phone could get his number. I saved his number into mine and I really hoped that I wasn't making a huge mistake. But knowing my instincts, I'm pretty sure I wasn't.

"Now, can we get me home now? It's about to pour soon and I don't want you getting wet." I stated as he just smiled stupidly at me. It was as if he liked me or something. Please.

"No prob. My brother's back in town and I think he can pick me up from Haven Avenue. There's a roof under there so you don't need to worry." Nick replied as he got his phone out to call his brother and ask him for a ride.

"Okay then," I said as I realized that we finally reached my house, "Well, this is me. I guess I'll be hearing from you soon or maybe not." I laughed.

"Oh, you will be," Nick smiled as I walked up the steps that led to my door. He began making his way to the park that was a few blocks away from here.

"Hey!" I said.

He turned around and gave me a questioning look.

"Thanks…for walking me home," I said, stubbornly but still smiling.

He smiled at me and kept on walking. The minute I got inside my house was when I suddenly realized that I was really exhausted and there was another feeling that I was NOT willing to admit to anyone. My heart was beating like crazy and I could already tell that it was not a good sign.

End of Flashback and Miley's POV

Miley took a deep breath and was kind of anticipating that it wouldn't be Nick and at the same time, that it was. It turned out to be him.

-morning, sunshine, heh :D. did you sleep with that raging thunderstorm last night? -Nick

-morning, moonlight :P yay we're coming up with nicknames now…actually, I slept like a baby. but I'm still exhausted. -Miley

-moonlight, huh? I like that, I guess. yeah, me too…so I was wondering…if you were busy today? -Nick

Miley froze for a second and immediately felt sweat begin to crawl through her neck. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go out with Nick. Even if they were just friends. That was just asking for trouble. Especially from Selena. And since she had her little spies everywhere, there was no doubt that they'd find out about her little boy toy being with her. Plus, she began to smile, she had to take Noah out today. She promised and of course, she could so get out of having plans with Nick.

"Hey, Miles!" She heard her mom out the door. "Change of plans. My meeting got re-scheduled to tomorrow. So it turns out I can take Noah today. You're still welcome to tag along but you must want to have other plans."

Well, shit. Hell. Fu-. What am I going to do? I wanted to see Nick…But how could I do that without being found out?

"Yeah, mom…I kinda might have plans with someone." She said then realized that her mother would be asking her question. Whoopee…

Her mom raised an eyebrow. Now she knew who she got it from… "With who?" Then, she began to smirk and slightly pretended to be one of those overly-excited moms. "Oh, is it a boy? Oh my my my…Who is he?"

"This kid named Nick Jonas," Miley replied like it was no big deal.

"Denise's son?" Her mom's eyes widened.

"You know his mom?" She asked, cautiously.

"Yup. We're planning the annual charity masquerade ball together," she smiled and then realized that her daughter looked freaked. "Oh, Miley! I'm not gonna say anything at all to her."

Miley's eyes gave her a silent thank you. "Plus, it's not a date. We're just gonna hang out, I guess."

That's when she realized that she still needed to reply to him. She wanted to cut to the chase.

-nope, I'm free. did you have something in mind? -Miley

-wow, I really thought you were going to turn me down lmaoooo. Okay, I was thinking we'd go and see Cartel in concert. My brother Kevin came through and got me good seats. -Nick

-Cartel?! I freakin' love them! :D I want to come.

-Okay. I'll pick you up at 7. =)

She felt butterflies within her stomach. She couldn't tell if it was just her nerves or her guilt…Or if it was something else entirely…What had she gotten herself into?

"Miley? So is it a date?" Her mom asked. Miley almost forgot that she was in the room.

She blinked to snap herself out of it. "I guess it is or it can be two friends going to a concert. Either way, I'm going to see one of my favorite bands so I'm psyched!"

Miley's brothers, Braison and Trace, came in.

Braison was the first to speak. "Hey Trace…Miley's going on a date with the hottest guy in Haven Avenue!" He made it sound like he sounded like a girl and oddly enough, he was good at it. But since it was Braison…Miley wasn't surprised at his annoyance.

Trace chuckled. He was visiting for the weekend from university. "I'd say it was about time," he said, smirking.

Miley rolled her eyes. "Don't you guys have somewhere else to be?" Her mom simply laughed at the three of them.

"We just wanna be here for your special moment," Braison said while batting his eyelashes.

"Yup," Trace smiled.

"You guys are making something out of what's really nothing," Miley said, hurting herself as she stated that. But was it like that, really? She sighed

"Don't listen to them, Miles. Deep down they're just happy for you," her mom said, giving her reassurance, "Just go have so fun tonight."

Braison was making kissy faces and Trace hit him roughly on the arm so he stopped.

"Thank you," Miley said to Trace and he smiled. Trace always knew when to tone it down.

Miley yawned and rubbed her eyes a little because she still felt exhausted. It wasn't really because of last night but because of Selena's constant nagging and giving into her demands. It took so much of her willpower not to kick Selena's perky little butt and completely forget about her. She couldn't because Selena had power over her. And that just sucked.

Miley gazed at her reflection in the mirror and made sure that she looked…Wait, she didn't want to make it seem like she was trying to impress Nick. She immediately rolled her eyes. She finished curling her hair and flattened out her already wrinkled outfit. She wore a rose pink top with a black vest over it to give it the rocker appeal. She put on a pair of ripped blue jeans and her favorite cowboy boots over them. She made sure her makeup didn't make her look like a…well, like Selena. She applied some lip gloss over her lips but not enough for it to be too noticeable.

She heard her mom call from downstairs. "Miles! Someone's at the door!" She loved that her mother never attempted to embarrass her. But the night was still young…

"Coming!" Miley replied as she grabbed her LeSportsac purse and made sure her phone and camera were in it.

She took her time coming down the stairs. She was lucky that she reminded herself that she shouldn't get too excited over hanging out with Nick.

She sighed, managing to maintain her cool and opened the door. She raised an eyebrow at Nick who was smiling even before the door opened. He wore a black long sleeved shirt with a cool-looking red tie over it and black slacks. He wore gray sneakers along with that.

"Hey," Miley said, "Are you ready to hit the road?"

"Sure. Let's go," Nick replied while he smoothed out his head of curls.

"Be back soon, mom!" Miley shouted as she closed the door and she followed Nick to his car. It was a 2009 Dodge Challenger. It was one of the coolest cars she'd ever laid her eyes on.

"Nice car," Miley said, with widened eyes.

Nick revealed a cocky smile. "Thanks."

Miley hopped into the passenger seat while Nick was turning on the ignition. They drove off in silence.

On the way, Miley was avoiding making eye contact with Nick while he was playing around with his radio to find a good song. Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" was blasting through the speakers.

"You gotta thank your brother Kevin for the tickets," Miley blurted. She was trying to figure out what to say to the guy. She was confused. She has never really had any experience with guys. Her brothers didn't really count because they didn't have the ability to make her heart beat like crazy.

Nick turned to her and smiled. "You're nervous."

"That must be good news for you," Miley replied stubbornly.

Nick chuckled. "Kevin works for a record company and he's been helping discover good bands lately. You should listen to my iPod sometime. Lots of his new bands are on it. They're really good."

"That sounds like a pretty wicked good job," Miley said, interested, "Hey, do you think he could listen to some of my friend's demos. She's awesome but she hasn't shared her music with the world yet…"

Nick said, "Really? Maybe I can talk to him. Who's this friend of yours?"

"Demi. Demi Lovato," she answered.

"Where have I heard that name before? Oh yeah, my brother couldn't shut up about some girl named Demi…Maybe they're two different girls."

"How many brothers do you have?" Miley laughed.

"I have three. There's Kevin, Joe, and Frankie," Nick said.

"I have 4 brothers and sisters. There's Trace, Brandi, Braison, and Noah," Miley said, breathless.

"Wow, that's a lot," he said, "Do you guys all live together?"

"Trace and Brandi are off in college," she said, "And your brothers?"

"Kevin's working at being a major record producer while taking some college classes. Joe's been going to school too…but he wants to make his own band someday. Frankie's still pretty young…He's 9 so he hasn't been up to much."

'You guys are pretty musical," Miley said, "Kinda like mine."

"That's pretty cool," Nick said, "What about you Miley? Tell me about you."

That's kinda what I've been trying to avoid, Mr. Pretty Boy… "Well, I want to go to Princeton. It's been my life's dream. But I've kind of always been into music since my family's in the music business. My taste in music is really strange but I don't care what other people think. In general, I don't care about what other people think," she said, thinking then saying exactly what was on her mind.

"Princeton, huh? Then you must be pretty smart," Nick said, "Do you play any instruments?"

"I play guitar and piano but I'm not the type who's able to play a random song that I just created in my head like some brilliant masterminds."

"I never knew someone like that existed," Nick said, "Have you ever met someone like that?"

Miley thought a little and then she easily remembered. How could she forget? "Yeah…There was this one summer like…3 years ago where I heard this boy playing his guitar like a pro. It was like the music was pouring through his fingers. It was incredible. And his voice…It was really sweet, and smooth like velvet…"

Nick hesitated a little and then said, "What summer camp did you go to?"

"Camp Falling Stars," Miley said, thinking, "I miss that place a lot. I've been going there as a camp counselor. You know, I'd never admit this to anyone but part of me really wished every summer since then that…I would see him again." She smiled at Nick, happy that she was actually being honest with him. She felt that she could trust him a little more now.

He felt his heart skip a beat as Miley continued speaking. Is she talking about me? "I went to camp there, too…And I used to play my guitar by the lake after dinner. You know, before we went to bonfires by the beach and made s'mores."

Miley's eyes widened. "No way…That was you?"

Nick nodded, sure of it. Who else could it have been, anyway?

"No wonder! When you sang last night, it seemed so familiar," Miley said, shocked at the discovery.

"I didn't go back to camp after sophomore year ended, though. That would explain why you never saw me again," he replied, kinda disappointed that he let her down. Even if her didn't know her back then, part of him really wished that he could turn back time.

"Wow, that's pretty cool. You're like…a familiar stranger! Someone I felt like I knew but never actually met," Miley said, laughing but then she stopped herself. She thought she was kind of acting dumb.

"So now you'll treat me better that you know I'm that guy from 3 years ago?" Nick asked, hopeful.

Miley turned to him and Nick focused on driving. She simply said, "Fat chance." She erupted into laughter and Nick couldn't help himself but laugh along.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen, I'm about to take you guys back a couple of year. You guys probably all remember this song," Cartel's lead singer, Will, shouted into the microphone so the screaming fans were able to hear.

Nick and Miley had front row seats to the concert, thanks to Kevin. They were having a lot of fun. They found something they had in common. They knew all of Cartel's songs and challenged each other to see who knew more songs and who wouldn't mess up the lyrics. They kept laughing to the point that they started hugging each other.

When the lead singer finished speaking, Cartel's old song "Honestly" started playing. Everyone went insane. Nick and Miley, along with the rest of the crowd, kept jumping up and down and singing at the top of their lungs.

"You guys have been a beautiful audience! So long, Haven Avenue! We love you!" Will screamed at the audience and the whole band was leaving the stage.

As everybody was exiting, Nick took hold of Miley's hand so she wouldn't get lost in the crowd. She didn't seem to mind at all.

Once they made their way to the parking lot, they could finally hear each other's voices and began talking about how amazing that concert was and how much fun they had.

"That was so amazing," Miley said, out of breath, "I want to rewind and do it again!"

Nick said, "I don't think you have the energy to even get to the care, Miles," Nick said, speaking her nickname for the first time.

"I say, Nicholas, that you are ridiculous," Miley giggled, "Race you to the car!" She ran straight ahead, leaving Nick in the dust. He ran as fast as he could and easily caught up to her. He hugged her by the waist and they both smiled at each other.

"Let me go!" Miley laughed, "I still have to beat you."

"Fat chance," Nick smirked as he carried her to the car.

They basically laughed and listened to music along the way. They found that they had the same taste in music. They sang along together to old '80s songs like "September" and they even sang to Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me".

When they pulled up to Miley's house, Nick got out of the car and came to the passenger side to open Miley's door.

"Hey," Miley said as she was making her way to her door.

"What is it?" Nick asked.

"I had fun," Miley said, smiling brilliantly, "Thank you."

He wanted to hug her again like they did at the concert. But it seems like the excitement started to wear off on Miley that she had gained her common sense. It didn't seem like she was going to wrap her arms around him again anytime soon.

"I'm glad you did. Me, too," Nick said, forcing himself to smile.

She walked back over to him and kissed lightly on the lips. She let go immediately and ran back into her house, leaving Nick breathless yet again.